Hello, and welcome back! It's ungodly hot here this week; the weatherman is even talking heat wave, which makes me happy for air conditioning and cold drinks. And for the stack of books teetering here on the corner of my desk. Of course, tomorrow, there'll be no reading going on. It'll be July 10, and by midnight, my younger son and I will be in a theater with a whole lot of friends watching the latest Harry Potter flick. For now, though, I have two new paranormal romances to share with you.

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Pocket), the debut by Melissa Mayhue is up first. Connor MacKiernan is willing to do what he has to to save his sister from his uncle's plans, including traveling into the future to find the woman destined to be his bride. At least, temporarily. Caitlyn Coryell is not inclined to marriage at the moment, not after her slimy fiance's behavior earlier in the day, but hey, going off with Connor might teach Richard a lesson. That and dumping the jerk. But Cate's stay in thirteenth century Scotland lasts a little longer than Connor had expected, and she and Connor can't manage to keep away from one another, no matter what they agreed to. I'm always on the lookout for a good new time travel, as they've been hard to come by in (too many) recent years. This one was good. I liked the characters in this one, and the paranormal elements give this one just the right twist to make it more compelling, keeping you reading until the very last page to get to that happy ending. And the preview of her next book in the back looks to be another interesting tale. I'm giving this one three and a half of Cupid's five arrows.

Mystic Guardian (Signet) by Patricia Rice kicks off a new paranormal series, set on the secret isle of Aelynn, off the coast of France. Mariel St. Just has waited years for her mother's prediction of the golden god to come true, and Trystan l'Enforcer looks like just the man her mother described. But he's leaving when she sees him, which just means she has to go after his ship her own way. Trystan can't believe the woman survived the entry to Aelynn, and now he knows she's meant for him. Except his life is already complicated by his obligations to the island and its people. And Mariel has no intention of staying on his island when her sister and the others in their village need her, no matter what the rules of his land. Trystan and Mariel have much to overcome to reach their happy ending, and it's worth every single page of adventure and difficulties to get there. I hate to have to wait until next summer for the next book in the series to see what will happen next for the people of Aelynn. This one's earned four arrows, a definite keeper.

Until next time, happy reading!